| This study seeks to investigate the attitudes of primary and middle school students who live in Xiamen,China,towards Putonghua,Minnan Dialect and English.The differences between groups of students are categorized under four independent variables;Minnan dialect and culture course,gender,parents' education background,and age.In total 253 students were interviewed,including 115 students from middle schools,and 138 students from primary schools,in six districts in Xiamen.The analyses of research results demonstrated that students at different ages and in different districts all showed positive inclination towards three languages and dialects;while Putonghua is regarded as the most useful language,followed by English and Minnan Dialect.On the usefulness of each language,Minnan dialect was found to be not as valued as Putonghua and English.However,the implementation of the‘Minnan Dialect and Culture' course influenced students' attitudes towards Minnan dialect in terms of affection,attractiveness,social influence,and usefulness.Compared to the students who had not taken the Minnan dialect course,students who had taken the Minnan dialect course showed a more favorable inclination towards the Minnan dialect.This study also found that male and female participants showed different inclination towards Putonghua,Minnan dialect and English.Female participants tended to be more favorable to Putonghua,while male participants tended to show less favor to Minnan dialect among the three languages and dialects.Better educated parents tended to feel Putonghua and English are more influential and pleasant to listen to than the Minnan dialect,while parents with lower educational level tended to feel that Minnan dialect and Putonghua had greater social influence.In terms of attitude towards English,parents with an educational level of bachelor's degree or higher generally had higher evaluation of the importance of English than those with an education level of bachelor's degree or below.Parents with a higher level of education tended to give a higher evaluation of the social status and economic value afforded to children with good English competences.Both middle school students and primary school students show positive attitudes towards the three languages emotional impact,but when asked to consider the social status of these languages and dialects,primary and middle school students of all ages held a lower evaluation towards Minnan dialect.The practice of Putonghua,English and Minnan dialect by children were explored in three different domains;schools,family,and social context.The findings demonstrated that the students tended use a blend of Minnan dialect and Putonghua when speaking with grandparents and parents in the home domain.Cross tabulation data showed that students'birthplace place and parents' ability in Minnan dialect have an impact in students' Minnan dialect language practice.In the school domain and different social domains,Putonghua has become the main language for primary and middle school students.This thesis also adopted a qualitative approach to investigate parents' language ideologies and teachers' opinions about students' language attitudes and language practice.It was found that students' language attitudes and language practice are affected by socio-political and economic factors,parents' educational background,the immigration experiences and parents' cultural values and the school factor.Since the shift towards Putonghua as the common primary language,some parents even serve as medium translators between grandparents and children.Parents with higher education background,or with overseas study or work experience,tend to give more consideration to facilitating the study of English for their children.Some parents think highly of the social value of English learning due to schools placing heavy importance in the assessment of students English ability,English competency often being a roadblock in an already competitive set of college entry criteria. |
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